


Moonlight Exceptions

by Ember_Eyes_are_for_Tigers



Series: Chronicles of a Heartbroken Few [6]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Alye is awkward and precious and if anyone hurts me I will kill everyone in this room, And honestly?? It’s probably going to me that will hurt him, Canon Compliant, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, It’s thinly veiled- I toned it down so much from the previous drafts, Light Angst, alas they’re bricks and dumb, although this is establishing them as friends, romance?? With these two bricks?? God I wish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember_Eyes_are_for_Tigers/pseuds/Ember_Eyes_are_for_Tigers
Summary: Despite having written letters to each other for months, between awkwardness and seasickness, Sal Devon Archibald Van Dolion of Musicals, may as well begin ruining the forming friendship between him and Alye Crysalker as soon as it starts.
Relationships: Sal Devon Archibald Van Dolion of Musicals & Alye Crysalker
Series: Chronicles of a Heartbroken Few [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607527
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Moonlight Exceptions

**Author's Note:**

> I FINISHED WRITING THIS TODAY  
> Usually I feel pretty good about my fics even without having gone and rewritten all of them, from start to finish. But, this time, oh this time, I don’t feel really that satisfied with this instalment but it’s crucial- because I won’t be able to explore much of their relationship in the actual sessions so writing is all I have 
> 
> Anyway, this takes place the night when the party gets on the boat to go to the Southern continent to escort ex-soldier and diplomat of Merrowport Alye Crysalker
> 
> (My favourite thing about writing this was making Sal say “pretty boy” so, expect to read that a lot in the future)

There were countless things that Sal had learnt weren’t enjoyable for him, personally. 

Being dependent on someone, sex, scary campfire stories and the list went on. And, now, he could add boats to the list.

When he was child and lived in Goldenrose, he would see the ships from faraway, the white sails in the air and the people who walked on the piers and could be seen carrying objects of every like up and down from those enormous vessels. It was fascinating, and he remembered dreaming about being able to sneak in one of the ships and being whisked to adventure.

He never did, of course. But, it’s also true that the call to adventure never really ceased to sing in his mind.

When he was a kid his perspective was rather  _ off _ , he was tiny and more obtuse than he would have liked to admit (Sal was certain that certain people would still call him obtuse, but, those people were never worth anyone’s time. And, especially not his). However, when he returned to Goldenrose, he still found his gaze shifting to the sails billowing in the distance. 

Not much by the intrigue of adventure, he had had enough of that, thank you very much, but, as something dangerous and unattainable. Something he wished to explore, but was far too afraid to actually take the jump. So, he never did.

And, now that he had experienced the  _ absolute wonders _ of travelling by sea, he was glad he never had. 

They had spent the afternoon travelling to the south of Heathwood and getting to a nearby small village port, that would have felt like another district of the city if it wasn’t outside of its walls. 

Once arrived there hadn’t been much time to do much else than have a quick dinner and then embark on the vessel. They were then all sent to bed, or rather, hammocks, for the exception of the night shift crew who began working on getting the boat out of the docks.

If Sal had been expecting a tranquil and peaceful night, lulled by the movement of the vessel and the sound of lapping waves against the wood, he would’ve been dead wrong. 

As soon as the ship began moving Faerryn and her (albeit hot) brother dropped into a deep slumber, shortly followed by Delearys and Machelle. Cornelius remained quiet, which could have meant anything, but, most likely, that he was awake and he was simply too polite to say anything.

Which left Sal alone, with an uneasiness building in his stomach, and with incessant snoring resounding in his ears. He slowly breathed in the damp air of the room under deck, eyes blown wide and staring at the ceiling. Even with darkvision the darkness seemed to swallow his surroundings. 

What a  _ wonderful _ travelling method to get back home.  _ Truly _ .

He groaned as the boat lurched, and with it his stomach.  _ He should probably get above deck before he made a mess that he had to clean up for _ .

It took him a couple of tries to get out of the hammock, resulting in crashing against the floorboards after a miscalculation. The room, though, remained tranquil and still and Sal took that opening to slip through the door, before Cornelius would ask him what was wrong.

He stepped upon the deck and was met with the cold wind of the night crashing against him, and the pungent smell of seaweed that filled the air. It felt a bit like being back home, in his apartment.

He lifted his gaze to the sails, in stark contrast to the night sky, where swirling galaxies of purples and pinks streaked the sky and where the moon shone bright. 

The ship was still navigating paralleled to the coastline, although land only appeared as a black shadow in the distance.

The nausea had calmed now, but it only got replaced by homesickness that, like a serpent, slithered around his heart, clenching it until he could not breathe anymore.

“That’s the Darmenn Coast,” from the sound of lapping waves came a voice, quiet despite being clear.

When Sal whipped around to see where the voice originated from he was met with his dark brown hair falling over his eyes and against his face.

“Oh!” The low whisper of the man who had talked was now exchanged for a more worried exclamation. Sal pushed aside the heavy locks from his face and he finally met the face that belonged to the voice.

Behind him, with his hands firmly on the helm, confident and relaxed, stood Alye Crysalker. His bangs were ruffled by the wind as he gazed down, revealing his concerned expression. 

For the first time since Sal had met him, he found himself feeling awkward and speechless, unable to tear his gaze away from the soft features highlighted by the moon’s light. 

In between the three months Alye had been residing in at the Guild they hadn’t found much time to know each other, or even have a discussion that didn’t end in Alye running away. In all the brief conversations they had managed to entertain, it was revealed that Alye was interesting, albeit awkward and self conscious. 

It was fair to say that Sal had taken it as a personal affront and had ended up, mostly as a way to kill time, with the goal of successfully coaxing him out of his shell.

Which began with the first letter sent during his most recent mission and had ended with a stack of letters and with accepting a job to escort him to the Southern continents. 

“I didn’t mean to startle you… is- are you alright?”

“Uh, yeah, of course,” 

When silence fell it felt like it could’ve been eternal, as if it cloaked everything and they could simply exist without having to communicate throughout words.

So, Sal climbed the slippery steps and, once reached the higher section of the deck, leaned against the railing, eyes careful to observe everything  _ but  _ Alye. 

They hadn’t talked and, even if they had, he had no idea of what they might even talk about. It shouldn’t even be a concern of his, nothing had happened to-

“Magical night… huh?”

Sal focused back on their surroundings, before saying:

“The view is gorgeous. Although, I would have  _ greatly  _ appreciated if I wasn’t on a boat,”

“Really? I find that seeing the world from the sea is… probably the best perspective the world could be seen in,”

Sal hummed, “Maybe, but, I rather much prefer when I’m not seasick and want to throw myself out in the water,”

“I hope you get your sea legs soon, it would be a pity to make you go through it because of me,”

He didn’t answer, leaving the sound of the waves to take over. 

His legs felt weak, Alye had been a part of the reason why he had accepted, not that he would admit it. Not outright, at the very least.

“Well, if it wasn’t for a number of reasons I wouldn’t even be here, but, it’s not your fault,”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

Alye briefly glanced at him curiously and a wave of guilt washed over him.

“The diplomat mission in the Elven Deathtrap, or whatever it’s called, was- I had planned for it to be my last mission with the Newsprings’ Guild. That was before I had made a decision to remain for more than a year at Newsprings and before, well,” he made a gesture at their surroundings, “the war and stuff,”

“Stuff? I imagine you’re not talking about Asmodeus’ plan to conquer our world, as you already mentioned,”

Sal nodded, nervousness beginning to bubble in his veins.  _ Was he willing to be honest to a complete stranger? Well, not a complete stranger but- _

Alye was standing next to him, at ease in the midst of the ocean, eyes focused in front of him and not noticing Sal, who quietly took him. 

_ Blond pretty boys were going to be the death of him. _

He sighed softly, and said:

“Stuff as in those guys downstairs, sleeping. Well, except for Cornelius, I doubt he even knows what sleep is,” he shrugged, “I’ve known them for a year, but, I hadn’t expected to care about them,”

_ And, he wasn’t expecting how he would do anything for them _ , but, he didn’t say that.

His focus was now entirely on Alye, who nodded.

“Isn’t that how people work? When you meet strangers they’re just that, and you don’t expect yourself to care about their well-being until you find yourself worrying. And, then, everything fits into place and you won’t remember a time before them,”

A long pause of silence fell between the two of them, and Sal’s gaze slipped to the infinite expanse of the dark black ocean. The waves illuminated faintly by the celestial body that could be seen from there. 

He felt Alye turn to observe him, quietly and pensievely, although he didn’t give it to show and mulled over his words.

“That’s… true. You must know a fair deal about friendships, huh?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert. I just ended up reading a lot of books to fill my time,” that Sal, or anyone really, could confirm his words. As he had been rarely spotted without a book when he was inhabiting the Guild.

“Haven’t we all?”

When Sal turned to look back at him he was met with a surprised expression.

“Really? I was expecting you to being able to charm your way within a group of people without even blinking an eye,”

“That I can do. And,  _ really _ well, if you’ve seen my reports from the previous mission you could tell,”

“I have,”

“I just have the tendency to not be a friendly person. Charming and being friendly are two separate things, and with the latter I rarely do  _ any _ practice,”

It took Alye several minutes before he could answer, as he seemingly mulled his words over, turning them over in his mind and inspecting them from every angle. It felt… weird. 

He wasn’t used to people stopping to weigh his words, usually they would stop and appreciate what he created and then continue on with their day. 

“So… was… how did you befriend your friends and current travelling companions?”

A grin appeared on Sal’s face.

“The elf, Faerryn’s girlfriend, the big red guy and hot blue one met just today. Or, yesterday if we’re past midnight. And, besides, I doubt you could call them my friends. As for the others, Oak Owen forced us,”

Alye frowned, “So, am I an exception or did someone force you to befriend me?”

The grin on his face disappeared, as he pointedly looked at the wooden planks beneath his feet. Alye’s tone and his eyes, now boring through him, felt like daggers as it brought up the same question.  _ What are the risks of being honest with him? _

“I- yes. No one told me or forced me to do anything, that, I can assure you,” 

Sal quickly glanced up at him, observing as his expression morphed. 

The world seemed to halt and with it his own heart.

The waves seemed to stop crashing against their vessel as it slowly dawned on him as he realised what he had just uttered. Although, there was no confusion in the others eyes, or anger, nor disgust. 

Instead, it was a veiled emotion, something either incomprehensible or too terrifying to want to understand. So, he stood impassible, staring at him, without daring to utter more.

“That’s-“

“Crysalker! Quit it and pay attention to the fucking water!” The voice of Captain Hamid rang into the otherwise still night, forcing Alye to move his focus entirely on the ocean.

Sal took that opportunity to try and slip away, but, just as he did, Alye said:

“I don’t know if tomorrow morning I’ll be awake, but, if not, I hope we’ll be able to talk more. And, if not, we can go back to the letter format for communication,”

Sal turned, offering a weak grin, “I hope so too,”

The smile that Alye returned was bright, although soon replaced by a focused expression as he returned to his diligent job. Leaving Sal to climb back down the narrow, wooden stairs to the lower deck.

As he got farther away from the wind and the ocean time, he felt his heart pick up again. Although now beating against his chest, as if he had just blown in his bagpipes for longer than two hours, and resounding in his ears, louder than ever before. 

As he entered the damp room where their hammocks had been set, he felt immune to the snoring and low murmur of sleep talking. Which he didn’t seem to even notice, as he stumbled to lay back down in a comfortable position on his hammock.

His mind had been in somewhat of a stasis, struggling to understand beyond the fog of confusion. However, once he had finally reached the hammock, it seemed to begin racing. Replaying Alye’s words and his expressions, until they began morphing into dreams.

And, as he slowly fell asleep, he found himself not regretting having taken an exception for Alye.


End file.
